- A
Assign the roles/viewer role at the project level.
Roles/viewer provides read-only access to all resources except for data access in some services.
- B
Assign the roles/storage.objectViewer role at the project level.
Why wrong: This would give read access to all buckets, including the sensitive ones, which is not desired.
- C
Assign the roles/viewer role at the project level and create an IAM deny rule to deny storage.objects.list and storage.objects.get on the sensitive buckets.
The deny rule explicitly blocks the read permissions on the sensitive buckets while the viewer role gives access elsewhere.
- D
Assign the roles/storage.admin role at the project level.
Why wrong: This grants full control over storage, including deletion, which is excessive for auditors.
- E
Assign the roles/storage.objectViewer role on the sensitive buckets with a deny condition.
Why wrong: IAM role conditions cannot deny; they only allow access if conditions are met. A deny condition is not valid.
Google ACE Configuring access and security Practice Question
This ACE practice question tests your understanding of configuring access and security. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A systems administrator needs to grant a group of external auditors read-only access to all resources in a GCP project, except for Cloud Storage buckets that contain sensitive data. The auditors should not be able to view the contents of those buckets. Which two IAM policies should the administrator implement? (Choose two.)
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Assign the roles/viewer role at the project level.
Option A is correct because the roles/viewer role at the project level grants read-only access to all resources in the project, including Cloud Storage buckets, but it does not grant access to the objects within those buckets. This provides the auditors with the broad read-only access they need, except for the sensitive buckets where object-level access must be explicitly denied.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Assign the roles/viewer role at the project level.
Why this is correct
Roles/viewer provides read-only access to all resources except for data access in some services.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Assign the roles/storage.objectViewer role at the project level.
Why it's wrong here
This would give read access to all buckets, including the sensitive ones, which is not desired.
- ✓
Assign the roles/viewer role at the project level and create an IAM deny rule to deny storage.objects.list and storage.objects.get on the sensitive buckets.
Why this is correct
The deny rule explicitly blocks the read permissions on the sensitive buckets while the viewer role gives access elsewhere.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Assign the roles/storage.admin role at the project level.
Why it's wrong here
This grants full control over storage, including deletion, which is excessive for auditors.
- ✗
Assign the roles/storage.objectViewer role on the sensitive buckets with a deny condition.
Why it's wrong here
IAM role conditions cannot deny; they only allow access if conditions are met. A deny condition is not valid.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the distinction between bucket-level and object-level permissions, and the trap here is that candidates mistakenly think roles/viewer alone blocks object access, when in fact it grants storage.objects.list and storage.objects.get, so an explicit deny rule is required to prevent viewing bucket contents.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
IAM deny rules are implemented using the Deny policy, which is evaluated after allow bindings and can explicitly deny specific permissions (e.g., storage.objects.list and storage.objects.get) on resources like Cloud Storage buckets. This approach ensures that even if a user has a broader allow role (like roles/viewer), the deny rule overrides it for the specified buckets, preventing object-level access while still allowing listing of bucket metadata. In real-world scenarios, this is critical for compliance requirements where external auditors need visibility into project structure but must be barred from accessing sensitive data.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this ACE question test?
Configuring access and security — This question tests Configuring access and security — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Assign the roles/viewer role at the project level. — Option A is correct because the roles/viewer role at the project level grants read-only access to all resources in the project, including Cloud Storage buckets, but it does not grant access to the objects within those buckets. This provides the auditors with the broad read-only access they need, except for the sensitive buckets where object-level access must be explicitly denied.
What should I do if I get this ACE question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Last reviewed: Jun 30, 2026
This ACE practice question is part of Courseiva's free Google Cloud certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the ACE exam.
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